Monday 2 February 2009

Library books

After a couple of weeks of being too ill to gather the enthusiasm to even go out, it was rather nice to get to the library today. I love having the time to just browse the bookshelves to see what's new or what's come in that I might have previously been looking for. Here's what I picked up today:



The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny is the 3rd. book in her Inspector Gamache series, set in Quebec. I've really enjoyed the first two books and am ready to read this one now. Especially as I think there is now another new one out!

The Devil in Amber by Mark Gatiss is the 2nd. book in his Lucifer Box series. I read the first one a couple of years ago, enjoyed it, and would like to read this.

Runemarks by Joanne Harris... well, I *know* I've heard someone, somewhere, mention this book and say that it was quite good. So I nabbed it. Quite pleased about this one.

The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker I've not heard of but as I loved Dracula and this one is set partly in Cornwall and in Egypt it sounds like it might be my kind of thing. And the other book of short stories by him, Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories, has got to be worth a look!

And for those who are interested here is my local library here in Tiverton:



It's a modern building, only a couple of years old. Because of that I gather it's one of the Devon 'flagship' libraries and thus we get a good choice of books both old and new. The library part is to the right of this photo (not mine, found on the net) but more or less mirrors the other side.

Inside: (again not my photos)



What's missing from this photo is the new scanning device machines. We no longer book books in and out with a library assistant... we do it ourselves. I'm not sure what I think about this. It's actually not that much quicker and surely it must eventually put people out of work?





So, that's a brief tour of my local library here in Tiverton. It's a place I spend quite a lot of time in - although heaven knows why as I have a personal tbr pile of about 300 books! (I choose not to think about it...) But if you don't use it, you'll lose it and anyway FREE books! What's not to like?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! The books look very well kept. :] Also, the library looks quite organized and a nice quiet spot to read.

Although I read Dracula, I'd never heard of The Jewel of Seven Stars. I'll be looking forward to your review on this one.

Glad to hear that you are feeling better. Happy reading~!

Ana S. said...

Your library looks so nice!

I haven't read any Stoker other than Dracula, so I look forward to your thoughts on The Jewel of Seven Stars.

DesLily said...

wow that's a big library.. the one from my home town is really tiny lol.. but i loved it anyway

Anonymous said...

Oh, thanks so much for posting the pictures of your library. I enjoyed taking a peek. The branch of the library where I work was renovated a couple of years ago with space expanded and all new machines. We have 3 self-check machines, but there is plenty for us to do. We've had to try to convince patrons that they can use the self-checks. The kids help because all of our elementary schools in this area have them. Kids are fearless about new technology. :-)

Enjoy CRUELEST MONTH!

Nan said...

I love that library! Great spacing between shelves. That's my gripe in libraries - the shelves so close together that there's hardly any space in the aisles between them. Lucky, lucky you!! Glad you are feeling better. I have on my shelf another 'cruellest month' by Hazel Holt - one of her Mrs Mallory series. Shouldn't there be book title police that just allow a title to be used once? :<)

Anonymous said...

Tiverton library looks lovely. In our library they now issue a slip of paper giving the date due back instead of stamping the date on the label. Not too bad if you're only taking out one book because if you borrow more than one it all goes on the one ticket and I never take them all back together - I renew books on-line so the date on the slip is never right. I lose the slips, and forget when books are due back. It's a waste of paper and takes longer to issue books and I can no longer check quickly when books are due back. The only redeeming feature is that I can check what books I have out on-line and renew them - if I remember. My son told me of a site where they'll send you an email reminding when books are due back - but then I would have to remember to check my emails!

I still think the library's good value though and I do spend quite a lot of time there.

Cath said...

Orchidus: yes it is a nice quiet library for sitting and reading. Thank you, I'm feeling much better now.

Nymeth: yes I think we're really quite lucky here to have such a nice library. It was funny with the Jewel of Seven Stars. I got it from the library yesterday and a question about it turned up on a quiz show called University Challenge last night. I thought that was quite odd.

Hi Pat. When we first moved here the town had a really small library too. Then we got this new one about three years ago and yeah, it's quite big and very nice.

Kay: I think we're one of the first libraries in Devon to have the self-check machines. My daughter uses the bigger city library in Exeter and they certainly do not have them yet. I have no objection to using them but a lot of people seem confused. I'm glad to hear they don't necessarily put people out of work.

I'm sure I will enjoy the book.

Nan: yes I fully realise that we're lucky to have such a nice library. I thought there were book title police! But seriously, I too have been been caught like that a couple of times.

Margaret: we too get the slips of paper with the new machines. Like you, they just annoy me. Luckily, I tend to keep a close eye on due dates online and jot the same dates into my diary because, also like you, none of mine ever go back together.

I agree about the library being good value. And I am trying to use it more this year. Partly to save some money (I'm trying not to automatically buy the books I want) but also because I'm doing the library challenge.

Susan said...

Wow - what a nice library. It reminds me of our county library. The city branches are all old and not that well organized, but the county one is WONDERFUL. I drive the extra miles just because I love it so much. We also use the scanning machines. I love them! Fun glimpse into your world :)

Cath said...

Glad you enjoyed the little glimpse into my world, Susan. I can easily see why you'd drive the extra miles to your county library. I often visit other libraries in the county, just because I know they'll have a different selection of books to ours.

Tara said...

Nice library! I am not a big fan of the self check out. It takes longer b/c my girl wants to do and never gets it the first 3 times...you see what I mean...it takes forever. And yes, I've also thought that it puts someone out of a job.

Cath said...

Tara: yes, I can imagine with children it would take longer. I can just imagine my own grandaughter being dead keen to try the machines. They're all the same at that age. :-) I can't see how they wouldn't *eventually* cause some jobs to be lost.

Jill said...

Your library is lovely! I enjoyed looking at the pics. The library where I work is currently being renovated, and in the meantime we are working in a tiny little temporary branch. It's fun, but I can't wait to see how the new library looks when it's finished!

Cath said...

Darla: hope your new library is wonderful when you get it.